


Graphical Bug

by spideywhiteys



Series: 365 Days of Naruto AUs [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Gen, I guess???, Namikaze Minato (mentioned) - Freeform, ReadyPlayerOne AU, kinda cute, roshi is the hardheaded uncle that cares but sucks at showing it, roshi? An uzumaki? Maybe so, teen kushina, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28557141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideywhiteys/pseuds/spideywhiteys
Summary: Kushina is more familiar with a world made from a computer system than she is with the one she was born in. Maybe that kind of life isn’t as great as she thought.
Series: 365 Days of Naruto AUs [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086938
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Graphical Bug

**Author's Note:**

> DAY 4: ReadyPlayerOne AU ft. Nightmares / Kushina + Roshi

Kushina jolts awake to the sensation of her stomach dropping. The room is dark, her star-patterned curtains drawn shut to block the shine of the moon. It’s spring, the days still temperate and the nights chilly. Despite the cold of her room, she’s drenched in sweat, red hair in tangles and blankets kicked to the floor. She places a hand to her clammy forehead, unable to recall the intricate details of her nightmare.

Either way, dread curls in her gut like a physical weight. Sleep doesn’t seem too likely, not when she’s so tense and paranoid. Kushina is not a quiet person by nature, but even she knows that her family would not appreciate her making a bunch of noise in the early hours of the morning, far before the sun has even decided to rise. 

She slips from her bed, the pale purple sheets wrinkled with her nightmare-induced movements. It’s dark enough that she can only make out shapes; the shadow of her desk and the potted plant that rests atop it, her old fantasy books stacked haphazardly in a corner — looking a little too ominous when swathed only in darkness. She stumbles over forgotten laundry on the floor as she makes her way to the piece of machinery in the middle of the room. It demands all attention—becomes the focal point of her bedroom in the light of day. 

The steadily blinking power button is how she manages to locate it. The movements are so routine that she gets herself seated and set up without much thought. It’s muscle memory at this point. Once she’s fully hooked up, she turns on the Immersion Console and  _ sinks. _

The real world is not ideal. Overpopulated and overly dependent on media, it’s become a secondary home to almost the entirety of mankind. The world everyone primarily lives in is entirely digital. Made up of pixels and touch receptors and graphics that looked far too real. 

Kushina loves the digital world because she loves being able to see beyond the four walls she lives in and the dull browns of a reality that’s falling apart. She can be anything online. Anyone. She can rule planets, touch stars with her bare hands, spew fire from her lips, discover new lands that could never exist here—it’s  _ everything. _ Her family loves her, but there’s so many of them and they’re all loud, vibrant personalities that don’t belong locked in a box. Their only escape is  _ PlayWorld. _

She really, really loves it.

When she opens her eyes, she’s in her home base. It’s a full island, surrounded by a dazzling ocean—the beaches all made up of white sand and perfectly formed shells. The roads are made of tiles, different colors and patterns in beautiful mosaics. She’s put so many hours into this, so much of her life—a life she can’t have outside.

Kushina opens up her friends list. There’s a few online, but most of her closest friends are all asleep, like she should be, their names grayed out to signify inactivity. Her violet gaze settles on one name.

_ YellowFlash. _

His real name is Namikaze Minato. They’ve never met in real life, but she’s pretty sure she loves him. Even if it’s embarrassing to admit, even to herself. He’s a bit of an idiot, but he’s kind and understands her in ways no one else does. It’s like he’s reading her mind, but not in an intrusive way that makes her want to hit him.

She doesn’t even know what he looks like. Not really. He’s described himself, of course. Blond hair, blue eyes—a lot like his game avatar. It might not be true, but at this point she’s not even sure she cares.

Her avatar is a kitsune type—and damn, had that cost her hundreds of hours and well earned game currency—with blood red hair like her own. The face doesn’t look much like her, though. Far too feral and sharp, whereas her actual features are soft and entirely the opposite of her fiery personality. She likes it better this way. She’s earned a lot of respect with this strong appearance, she’s beaten a lot of records and clawed her way into one of the most elite guilds,  _ Jinchuuriki,  _ as the ninth member.

_ [ YOU HAVE RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM:  _ **_SonGoku_ ** _ ] _

Kushina closes out her friends list, still disappointed that Minato is asleep. “What’s this old man want?” 

**SonGoku:** It’s far past your bedtime. Didn’t I say I’d call your parents next time this happened?

Kushina rolls her eyes. “What a pain…Ahhh, I want to talk to Minato! Minato! Wake up!” 

Though...the threat of having her parents called does send a trickle of teenaged fear down her spine. Uncle Roshi is not actually her uncle, though he’s old enough to be so. He’s distantly related on her father’s side and lives in the next country over, so his timezone is different and they rarely catch each other for more than a few hours.

He’s also a member of  _ Jinchuuriki,  _ the fourth to join. 

**Kurama:** Relax, old man! I haven’t been up the whole time! Jeez, you’re always so tense. Get a massage.

**SonGoku:** Regardless, if you’ve woken recently the smartest option would be to  _ go back to sleep. _

**SonGoku:** And I don’t need a massage. I’m not tense, you’re just exhausting.

**Kurama:** awww, need a nap already??

**SonGoku:** I’m calling your parents.

**Kurama:** Wait wait twai twa

Kushina keysmashes desperately, her fingers tripping over the holographic keyboard before her eyes. She sighs. Her parents would really kill her if they were awoken by her Uncle calling them about her being up at this hour. Jeez, responsible adults really sucked. Not a fun bone in their whole bodies.

**Kurama:** don’t wake them up, they’re sleeping

**SonGoku:** Like you should be.

**Kurama:** you’re no fun at all

**Kurama:** I had a nightmare and didn’t wanna sleep, i was gonna talk to  _ YellowFlash _ but he’s offline rn

**SonGoku:** He’s in the same timezone as you, right? He’s a smart kid, sleeping like he should. If you have a nightmare, wake your parents. Don’t escape to a place like this.

She frowns, exhaling sharply through her nose. He’s always so straightforward and no-nonsense. Sometimes she really doesn’t get how they’re related...but then whenever he loses his temper she remembers. 

**Kushina:** What’s so bad about coming here? I just wanted to talk to  _ YellowFlash. _ I shouldn’t wake up my parents for something stupid like this!

**SonGoku:** If it has you up at this hour, it can’t be that stupid, kid. 

There’s a moment where she can see dots on the screen indicating that Uncle Roshi is typing. She glances past the holographic screen to the world that she’s able to call her own. The one she built up with her time and efforts and hours put into this virtual game of life. It’s the perfect paradise, the perfect  _ home. _ It’s everything she wants, everything she wishes the real world could be. Why wouldn’t she escape here? Why wouldn’t she want to seek the company of the one she loved most?

**SonGoku:** Here isn’t real. Don’t forget that. Are you really satisfied using this place as a comfort? You made it all with your own two hands. Try making a home in reality.

Kushina purses her lips, rolling his words around in her head. “Can’t you simplify the life lessons?” 

**Kurama:** sounds like a lot of work

**SonGoku:** Who the hell are you?

Kushina snorts. A viscous grin slicing across her face, flashing her avatar’s sharp, fanged teeth. 

**Kurama:** okay oaky youve said ur piece

**SonGoku:** Now go to bed. And take a grammar class.

Kushina replies only with a large spam of various emojis before logging out quickly, unwilling to face the retaliation. She cackles softly to herself. When she comes out of the system, the bright colors and beautiful beach are gone. 

It’s just her and a small, dark room in a towering complex. Everyone lives in boxes and it’s not really called  _ living _ anymore. She holds her hands in front of her face, barely able to make out any details in the dark. At least she isn’t feeling paranoid anymore.

She clenches her hands into fists. In the morning, she should ask Minato for his number. Being beside him in a game....

Uncle Roshi is right.

It’s not  _ real. _ She wants the  _ real  _ Minato beside her, before her own eyes and not in a world of pixels. She wants a future where it’s better to make memories out  _ here _ with him rather than in there. 

And Uzumaki Kushina does not give up under pressure.

She blooms.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow / Support me on [Tumblr](https://spideyfoof.tumblr.com/) and let me know if you'd like to see more of this AU!


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